Phones dominated the January 17 Galaxy Unpacked event in San Jose, California, as Samsung showed off its new Galaxy S24 lineup. But this wasn't just a showcase for hardware, as new Galaxy AI features included on all three phones took up much of Samsung's focus during the event. And the company surprised us all with a teaser of an upcoming smart ring meant to help with health and fitness tracking.
All in all, it was a pretty eventful Unpacked, and you can read all the details below from our live blog of Samsung's phone launch. Here's a blow-by-blow account of everything Samsung talked about at Galaxy Unpacked, from new phones to AI features to the Samsung Health initiative and how that's paving the way for the upcoming Galaxy Ring.
Everything announced at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024
Samsung Galaxy S24: Even though it's the smallest phone in the bunch, the Galaxy S24 packs new AI features no different from its more powerful sibling in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Galaxy S24 features a larger, brighter screen than its predecessor. Samsung is also offering up to 7 years of software and security updates to the phones.
Read our Samsung Galaxy S24 hands-on review
Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus: Everything that goes for the Galaxy S24 goes for the Plus model — the bigger screen, the 7 years of software support, the AI features. But the Galaxy S24 Plus shares the same 45W charging speed as the Ultra model, and it's got a bigger battery than the S24, which should help the Plus last a long time on a charge.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: From its new titanium frame, to a new main camera, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is truly the first flagship phone to beat in 2024. Additionally, its rich set of AI features provides users with new experiences to enhance their productivity, communication, and much more.
Read our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra hands-on review
Circle to Search: In collaboration with Google, Circle to Search is one of the new AI-powered experiences on the Galaxy S24 series that lets users easily search without closing or switching apps.
Read more about Circle to Search
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Call it a teaser, but Samsung did save its one more thing announcement for the very end with its next wearable that's coming out later this year.
Read more about Galaxy Ring
How to watch Galaxy Unpacked 2024
Galaxy Unpacked begins at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT/6 p.m. GMT. Our guide on how to watch Galaxy Unpacked live goes into greater detail on all the places that are streaming today's event, but you can just follow the embedded link up above to keep up with Samsung's announcements.
What we're expecting at Galaxy Unpacked 2024
Unlike previous Unpacked events, where Samsung has crammed in a lot of different product announcements, we expect things to be very focused this time around, with Galaxy S24 news dominating the spotlight. Look for three new models — the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24 Ultra.
As in past years, the Ultra model figures to introduce the biggest changes. We've heard that Samsung plans to switch the model's materials from aluminum to titanium, which is more durable. The Galaxy S24 Ultra could also get an upgraded telephoto lens, at least in terms of resolution. Rumors point to a 50MP camera that supports a 5x zoom. The 10MP sensor it's likely to replace offered a 10x zoom.
Changes to the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus may be more modest. Those phones may have larger screens than their predecessors if reports that Samsung is shrinking the bezels prove accurate. All three phones have been tipped to get an upgrade display with a maximum brightness of 2,600 nits.
It's software that could steal the show in the form of Galaxy AI. Samsung has talked up a feature called Zoom with Galaxy AI, which could improve zoom shots while also letting you resize objects in photos. Other rumored features suggest that Samsung is adding generative AI capable of summarizing documents and handling live translations directly on your phone.
The first question anyone asks any time a new phone comes out is usually “How much is this going to cost me?” And for the Galaxy S24, the answer at the moment is “we don’t really know.” And if you’re frustrated by that answer, you’re going to like ti better than what rumors are saying about the cost of Samsung’s new phones.
Specifically, a pair of pricing rumors — one out of the Netherlands, the other from France — point to a €50 price hike for the Galaxy S24 Ultra over last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra starting price. While price increases in one region don’t always mean across-the-board hikes, that doesn’t bode well for S24 Ultra pricing in the U.K., the U.S. or elsewhere.
If it’s any consolation, the Dutch rumor indicates a €50 price drop for the S24 and S24 Plus. We’ll soon see if either forecast is accurate.
Samsung hasn’t been shy about talking about its plans for AI ahead of Galaxy Unpacked. As far back as November, Samsung has promised AI features for its next phones. In fact, that Samsung press release even details a feature we expect will show up in the Galaxy S24 series — AI Live Translate Call.
As revealed by Samsung, AI Live Translate Call is going to live in the phone app. When you call someone who speaks another language, both audio and text translations will appear in real time. All of this take place on the device, which should make for faster translations while keeping your calls private. “Calling someone who speaks another language [will be] about as simple as turning on closed captions when you stream a show,” Samsung says of AI Live Translate Call.
We’ve also got an analysis of what Samsung’s AI features could mean for the way we use our phones.
We’re not expecting any other products to join the Galaxy S24 at Unpacked today. But if one does, it could be the Galaxy Ring.
Samsung’s answer to the Oura Ring, the Galaxy Ring is a rumored wearable that will offer a built-in heart rate monitor as well as other sensors for tracking blood pressure and detecting atrial fibrillation. As you might imagine, those kind of health tracking features require some regulatory review, which may explain why the Galaxy Ring is absent from today’s proceedings. We’re hearing now that Samsung may introduce the device in the third quarter, but we wouldn’t rule out a cameo at Unpacked.
The Plus model of the Galaxy S series often gets overlooked — it’s more expensive than the standard flagship, but doesn’t have the premium features as the Ultra model. So let’s give the Galaxy S24 Plus some love before its likely debut today, based on the rumors that we’ve heard.
Like the other phones in the S24 series, the Plus could benefit from smaller bezels that mean a larger screen than what the Galaxy S23 Plus offered. It’s supposed to feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, at least in the U.S., but in other parts of the world, the Galaxy S24 Plus could run on the Exynos 2400 chip. We’re expecting the same camera setup as the Galaxy S24 (a 50MP main camera with a 12MP ultrawide and 10MP telephoto lens capable of a 3x zoom) but the same charging speed as the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Here’s a look at potential Galaxy S24 Plus vs. Galaxy S23 Plus differences.
If you're a big fan of the Galaxy S23 Ultra's 10x optical zoom, you may end up disappointed this year. Rumors suggest that Samsung will be downgrading the magnification on the Galaxy S24 Ultra to a 5x optical zoom — the same as the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Google Pixel 8 Pro.
In what seems to be a kind of trade off, the lens is expected to get a resolution boost — rising from 10MP to 50MP. Which is a pretty hefty upgrade, and we may see Samsung emphasize the resolution boost to justify the downgrade.
It's also been speculated that we may see some kind of digital zoom trickery that exploits the higher resolution that can shoot pictures at 10x magnification at lower resolutions. Much like the iPhone 15's 2x "optical-quality" zoom. But we'll just have to wait and see how this pans out.
We suspect that the Galaxy S24 will come powered by the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which offers a major boost in both performance and AI processing. But it may not be quite so clear cut depending on where you buy the phone.
Rumor is that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will have Qualcomm's chip no matter what, but the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus may not be so lucky. In fact buying either phone outside of North America may mean you wind up with an Exynos 2400 chipset — straight from Samsung's own chip-building department.
It's not clear how the Exynos 2400 will compare to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, especially in the AI department. Samsung's chips do have a history of under-performing in comparison, which doesn't bode well, but there's no way of knowing for sure until we get to test the phones for ourselves.
There’s one design element we’re intrigued to see Samsung talk about today on the S24 Ultra — the possible introduction of titanium sides. You can hardly have missed the fact Apple kitted the iPhone 15 Pro out in the fall with a titanium build. That resulted in a lighter, stronger and more durable handset.
If Samsung did indeed decide to follow tack and switch to titanium, the change in weight (from the current aluminum) may not be as profound as Apple has been able to achieve but it would certainly improve the durability. Despite some early rumors claiming the standard S24 and S24 Plus could also benefit from a titanium design upgrade, I think that’s highly unlikely.
If you’re the sort of person who hates surprises, there’s no shortage of leaks to take all the mystery out of today’s phone launch. The most recent info dump features hands-on videos with various Galaxy S24 Ultra models. Assuming the clips are still online, you can see three of the four colors Samsung has reportedly chosen for the new phone — Titanium Gray, Titanium Yellow and Titanium Violet. Also, that “titanium” name would seem to suggest that rumors about Samsung using that material in the Ultra are in fact true.
We should be getting some major upgrades to the displays on all three Galaxy S24 models this year too. Rumor is that those screens will be ever-so-slightly larger, on account of Samsung slimming down the bezel. That leaves space for more screen without having to increase the size of the phones.
Leaked specs claim this means we'll see a 6.2-inch display on the Galaxy S24, 6.7-inch on the S24 Plus and 6.8-inch on the S24 Ultra.
We also see those screens get even brighter this year. The Galaxy S23 phones all offered a peak brightness of 1,750 nits, the Galaxy S24 is rumored to be upgrading that to 2,600 nits. That would certainly put Google's 2,400 nit Pixel 8 Pro down a peg or two.
If you're looking for last minute leaks ahead of Galaxy Unpacked later today, you're in luck. It seems that Samsung's Caribbean online store accidentally revealed the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra a little early. It seems like this happens every year, and the Caribbean is the unlucky region that jumped the gun this time.
The listings have been removed, though cached versions of the images do still exist. That gives us a good look at the phones, while seemingly revealing some key details like the price. Unfortunately it looks like the prices have risen by an average of $150 East Caribbean Dollars — or roughly $55 in the U.S.
It's not a guarantee that a price hike is guaranteed in other regions, but the odds of keeping the price static for another year are not looking good.
If you've made up your mind to buy a Samsung Galaxy S24 already, your next step is to figure out which color you want. The question is, what colors will be available this year? Thankfully we might know already
According to various leaks, it looks like the official names for Galaxy S24 colors could be Amber Yellow, Cobalt Violet, Marble Gray and onyx Black. Three Samsung-exclusive colors are apparently coming too, in the form of Jade Green, Sandstone Orange and Sapphire Blue.
Ice Universe also claims that the Galaxy S24 Ultra could come in a special gold edition — though this may just be a metallic version of Amber Yellow. It's possible that there was a mix-up because of how the titanium frame looks, as we saw with the iPhone 15 Pro colors.
The idea of a curved screen is pretty contentious. Some people love them, others hate them with a passion. If you're one of the latter, then you'll probably be happy to hear Samsung might be ditching the curved screen on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
That's right. Samsung, who started the craze of curved phone screens back in 2014, may be throwing in the towel. Or at least that's what the leaks seem to say, with Ice Universe showing off a Galaxy S24 Ultra with a perfectly flat display.
Not only would this be the first Ultra Galaxy phone to come with a flat screen, it means 2024 could be the first year in almost a decade that we didn't get a curved Samsung phone of some kind. And I'm quite glad about that, to be honest.
Google made headlines last year by pledging 7 years of software update support for the Pixel 8 series — and now Samsung may be set to follow its example. The catch is that there has been speculation that this will only apply to security updates, and not full versions of Android.
So while your phone may be safe from threats a few years down the line, you'd be missing out on new software features. Hopefully that isn't the case, especially since Samsung has been rather generous with software support in the past — even retroactively pledging support for older devices back in 2022.
We're still a few hours away until the big event, but you could say that this is Samsung's biggest launch yet because of the venue. Radio City Hall, its events in Las Vegas, and even in its home country of South Korea can't compare to the SAP Center in San Jose, CA. It's a huge sports arena, so it'll be interesting to see how exactly Samsung plans to fill the arena.
Remember when Samsung was trying to sell us on its Air Gestures features with the Galaxy S4? While it was criticized for being unintuitive and novel, we're eager to see if Samsung will bring it back in some form with the upcoming Galaxy S24 series.
Currently, the S Pen for the Galaxy S23 Ultra offers Air Actions that lets users scroll web pages by flicking the S Pen in the direction they want to go. But wouldn't it be neat if the S Pen could actually act as a mouse for navigation?
Everyone's always interested in pricing, and with the Galaxy S24 series, we could see their prices increased. It's not common at all, especially when it's been a few years since any price hike.
Just hours before Samsung's expected to introduce its new phones to the world, there was a leak from Samsung's Caribbean online store. While the listings have since been pulled by the store, they still exist through Google cached images, and they give us a good indication of the price.
A lot of the attention around the Galaxy S24 series pertains to artificial intelligence. More importantly, how the company will be using AI to boost its phones over the competition.
Samsung teased some of its AI-assisted experiences not long ago, but Galaxy Unpacked should introduce all of them. One of the most intriguing features is Samsung Gauss, an on-device generative AI model that will run locally, rather than through the cloud-powered language models. Whether it'll be used to generate images or help users with productivity, we'll soon find out how Samsung intends to leverage AI.
We're officially on the ground and there's already several attendees waiting to get inside of the SAP Center in San Jose, CA. With less than a couple of hours before the festivities commence around the Galaxy S24, there are a lot of predictions on what Samsung could be doing different to keep its crown of the best camera phone on the market.
One of the most pressing centers around the second telephoto camera of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It's a 10x optical camera with the current Galaxy S23 Ultra, but it could turn out to be a 5x optical one instead. While this may be seen as a downgrade of sorts, AI could technically boost the quality to make it as good as last year's telephoto camera.
Looks like Samsung's excited for the Olympics later in in the year as the badges look very much like medals. Perhaps it could be in reference to the rumored titanium frame of the Galaxy S24 Ultra?
We're in our seats and Samsung's not afraid to let people know what'll be taking center stage for today at Galaxy Unpacked. Artificial Intelligence is undoubtedly going to overtake the show, but the bigger question is whether Samsung could be locking away some features under a paywall.
@kate_kozuch ♬ original sound - Kate Kozuch
Do you wonder what it's like at a Samsung Unpacked event? Our very own Kate Kozuch takes us on a tour from the opening doors at the SAP Center, all the way to where they plan on watching the exciting announcement from Samsung.
We expect a lot out of the event and we've even listed the potential upgrades to keep an eye on.
@tomsguide ♬ original sound - Tom’s Guide
Samsung's playing a trailer inside of the SAP Center highlighting some of the notable features and achievements of its Galaxy devices over the years. From being one of the first to offer mobile payments with Samsung Pay, to how the company launched its foldable phones, there's no shortage of Samsung memories.
We're minutes away from the start of Galaxy Unpacked 2024. Perhaps we could see an upgrade to one of the series' most underrated features. Samsung DeX launched a while back, but it has remained unchanged over the last few iterations. It's also one of the defining features of the Galaxy line that separates it from all other phones.
Right off the bat, Samsung pledges 7 years of security and OS updates with the Galaxy S24 series. It matches the pledge that Google committed with its most recent Pixel phones.
Samsung is demoing is live translation feature with the Galaxy S24, which lets two people talk in their respective language while the phone translates it in real time. It's like having a personal interpreter.
Expressive messages are coming to the Samsung keyboard, which are powered by new AI experiences with the help of Google's Gemini Nano. You can also add stickers from photos you've taken, along with tone assist to make your messages sound fun or professional, whichever you choose.
Samsung's OneUI will show up in Android Auto with the Galaxy S24 series, so you'll have access to your entire phone without being distracted.
Galaxy AI will be able to discern voices when you record notes and also summarize them as well.
In Samsung Notes, you will be able to use Galaxy AI to easily and quickly summarize your notes so they look organized.
Samsung's collaborating with Google with some of the new AI-assisted features in the Galaxy S24 series.
Google's Cathy Edwards from Google is highlighting new AI-assisted search functions in collaboration with Samsung on the Galaxy S24 series. Circle to Search is a new way to search anything on your Android phone without having to switch apps.
Circle to Search, which is invoked by long pressing the power button, makes it super easy to look up outfits worn by your favorite fashionistas on social. You can learn more about their wardrobe, along with links to where you can buy them.
Another example is how Circle to Search can be used to discover recipes from food photos you've selected.
Circle to Search can be used in conversations with people as well by selected the portion of their message you want to search. There's no need to swap between apps to perform the search. It's a clever way of looking stuff up with the Galaxy S24.
Circle to Search with Google will be available on all three Galaxy S24 phones.
Circle to Search on Galaxy S24. pic.twitter.com/UtjBTPnVHqJanuary 17, 2024
Here's the video of how Circle to Search functions on the Galaxy S24 series.
Next up: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. The company's top-of-the-line phone is all about the cameras, complete with a main 200MP camera that's better for low light. The 5x telephoto captures 50MP snapshots, and with the help of pixel binning, can delivers 10x optical quality results.
Galaxy S24 Ultra's ProVisual Engine analyses photos to deliver optimal results.
Nightography features now available to social media apps. pic.twitter.com/OKaIc1RdH6January 17, 2024
Super HDR, nightography, and many more Galaxy S24 camera features will be accessible on many of your favorite social apps, like Instagram and Snapchat. In fact, the Galaxy S24 series will be the firs to deliver HDR enabled photos on Instagram.
ProVisual Engine's AI features will also remove unwanted reflections from your photos, like the ones you might see on glass surfaces.
More photo AI-assisted experiences with the Galaxy S24 will let you edit photos by allowing you to resize and reframe them. Any photo that's manipulated by Galaxy AI will have the appropriate meta data and watermark to indicate they're edited with AI.
You can also turn your ordinary videos in slow motion with the AI features of the Galaxy S24.
YouTuber Mr. Beast shows off some of the highlighting features of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, like its telephoto camera, Circle to Search, and much more.
Generative AI comes to S24 pic.twitter.com/CHG1JJWT69January 17, 2024
Here's another peek at how AI is being used to take photo editing to a new level with the Galaxy S24 series.
Samsung's David Thompson talks about the Galaxy S24's CPU, NPU, and GPU performance compared to their predecessors. Ray tracing support on the Galaxy S24 will make games look even more realistic than ever before. There's also a new cooling system in place to keep the phones in tip-top condition.
Peak brightness of 2,600 nits across all three devices, making them the brightest screens Samsung has released to date.
Galaxy S24 Ultra is Samsung's most durable phone to date, complete with a new titanium frame. It's also thinner to make it feel better in the hand, along with a flatter display that makes writing easier with the S Pen.
Corning's Gorilla Armor is 4x more scratch resistant, super anti-reflective properties make it adaptable to any lightning condition. It's exclusive to the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus features a One Mass design with an Armor Aluminum frame, making it look more cohesive. The two phones will also be available in gender neutral colors.
Samsung continues it sustainable pledge with the Galaxy S24 series, with more components constructed from recycle steel, recycled TPU, recycled cobalt, and recycled rare earth elements.
Preorders start today and they'll be available starting on January 31. They'll be $799 for Galaxy S24 , $999 for Galaxy S24+, and $1,299 for the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Ultra is actually $100 more than last year's Galaxy S23 Ultra.
There's an interesting pivot to Samsung Health and wearable with this short clip Samsung's showing.
Galaxy AI will also help to power new experiences with Samsung's wearable, like a medication tracker that could help you uncover side effects of using two or more medications.
Meet the event's biggest surprise: Galaxy Ring. Samsung teased its new wearable, but didn't disclose any additional details.
Galaxy Ring teaser pic.twitter.com/a7CbAycSQVJanuary 17, 2024
And here's the teaser for the Galaxy Ring.
And that's a wrap for Galaxy Unpacked. On top of learning more about the Galaxy S24 series, we also saw how AI will transform how people use them. And lastly, we got a tease at what Samsung has in store with the Galaxy Ring.
How's the above image look? We shot it with the 10x zoom feature on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra as camera testing is now underway. You can read some of our preliminary results in our Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Galaxy S23 Ultra zoom camera comparison.
